'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Place to review recorded music that you have heard.
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s_hari
Posts: 872
Joined: 20 May 2007, 18:45

Post by s_hari »

Wow! Just read Srini's post. Great review srini - in this review - you have overtaken our resident expert rajesh! Well done.

Can't wait until december to pickup a copy of the CD. I will be more happy if resident musicians in this forum sing a song or two once in a while

Arasi - keep continuing, keep composing.

-hari

Music
Posts: 149
Joined: 21 Jul 2006, 20:25

Post by Music »

Arasi ji & cmlover,
Thank you for your detailed response.

gardabha_gana
Posts: 1033
Joined: 24 Dec 2006, 07:44

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by gardabha_gana »

Can someone post a bio of arasi please ? TIA.

KNV1955
Posts: 354
Joined: 22 Oct 2012, 21:29

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by KNV1955 »

Just read this thread. Remarkable work & person "Arasi". Want to buy the CD & listen to the compositions. I have attended only 2 concerts of Sumitra (once in Academy & before that at NGS mini hall couple of years back). At NGS Mini hall she sang Arasi composition ( I don't remember the composition) & announced the composer. I thought it was her mother's composition. Later someone told me it is not her mother but someone else. Delighted to know that someone else thro this forum.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by rajeshnat »

knv
There is also a dedicated thread for arasi
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2045

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by cmlover »

KNV
You are close only. Sumitra is the niece of "Arasi".
Arasi is the niece of (late) VV Satagopan the great musical genius.
It is all in the family like you....

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

KNV,
Sumitra is my second cousin's daughter. Yes, my niece! While Nick can't figure it all out (after all, he wasn't born in India), for us it's easy as ABC. Those from the western hemisphere cannot get beyond first cousins in figuring out relationships! Perhaps it's so with the younger generation in India too now--as it's with their knowledge of thamizh!

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by Nick H »

Oh, Arasi, we can! We have this thing called cousins, first, second, third etc, and we have number of times they can be removed!

But, it is true that most of us never got around to working out how (and from what) they got removed.

I think that VK will have to build the mathematical model --- which I will then fail to understand! :$

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by cmlover »

Aren't we the distant cousins of chimpanzees and gorillas :D

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by HarishankarK »

I should like to mention that by listening to the Sharade Saraswati Kuntalavarali song many times now i have learn't it and sing it very often including last year Navaratri.
I even sing it sometimes to my daughter to put her asleep. The lyrics are very simple and the song reminds me a lot of BhogeendraSaayinam.
As mentioned in the review above it is a very good song for teaching little children as it is very simple sangatis but still the meaning is profound and tune is beautiful. Already in Kuntalavarali there are very few songs so this song would be very welcome in concerts also.
My appreciations to Arasi ji and Sumitra Nitin ji on this composition.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

HarishankarK,
Just saw your post. Thank you for learning to sing SAradE and for singing it to your daughter!

A simple little song in kunthalavarALi it is. I heard from Vasumathi Vasudevan of Florida that her young students are partial to it, and like to sing it in programs. The rAgA is appealing to them of course, and it sounds familiar to them, growing up in the west.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

"With a little help from my friends..." better be embroidered in my heraldry (of the 'in name only' queen). VKokilam, please do bring the song I sent you to this thread. Thanks, as always!

Thanks to Swathi (Kalakendra) for letting me post here in Rasikas.org a song each from my CDs which they have brought out :)

vasanthakokilam
Posts: 10956
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by vasanthakokilam »

Here is the song Arasi asked me to bring to this thread.

chinnak kaiyai virithenniDam - Beemplas
https://soundcloud.com/arasi-cd/chinnakaram-beemplas

Wonderful song.

priyaram78
Posts: 393
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:57

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by priyaram78 »

Enjoyed it immensely. Kudos to Arasi Madam.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Priya,
Thanks :)
Mysore Srikanth on the violin, Ganapathiraman on mridangam and Karthick on Ghatam.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Someone asked me recently how this song came about. On gOkulAshTami, perhaps?

It was on the day I heard that I was going to be a grandmother, and my first grandchild was born in 1997 :)

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by HarishankarK »

arasi wrote: 23 Feb 2014, 11:51 HarishankarK,
Just saw your post. Thank you for learning to sing SAradE and for singing it to your daughter!

A simple little song in kunthalavarALi it is. I heard from Vasumathi Vasudevan of Florida that her young students are partial to it, and like to sing it in programs. The rAgA is appealing to them of course, and it sounds familiar to them, growing up in the west.
Sarade is very beautiful and I liked the way it has short words / adjectives like a Sadasiva Brahmendral composition. No doubt kids will luv this song. In my family all four of us are partial to this song - every once in a while one of us starts this song and all the others join. Next time we got to Sringeri we are going to sing it there.

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by HarishankarK »

I am assuming Smt. arasi has only written the songs. May I know who tuned (ragam and sangatis) the compositions in the first album that includes Sarade?

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Harishankar,
Thanks for your liking the songs. I do not get the words by themselves. They are born with a tune with a few sangatis. All the singers have sung them as they came--of course, polishing them with their vidvat. My sangatis have been added to a few times. As Rajesh would kid me, I'm mostly an Adi tAlA person, tAlAs being a challenge to me. I have no clue about them, until I try them out. Some puzzle me, and the artistes have told me what it is, or, would say, this seems to jive with such and such the best! Sumitra Nitin (and her grandmother Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, a guardian angel to us), Neela Ramgopal, Suryaprakash and Gayathri Girish (in the order of the release of the five volumes,Sumitra singing in two of them), added their own sheen to them, of course...:)

HarishankarK
Posts: 2216
Joined: 27 Oct 2007, 11:55

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by HarishankarK »

Good to know this
You are definitley among the Uttama Vaggeyakarargal list. Like Ambujam Krishna of the 21st century

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by rshankar »

IIRC, Smt. Ambujam Krishna’s compositions were tuned by others. So, I don’t think she’s a vAggEyakAra in the strict sense of the word.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Thanks Harishankar. The one vidushi who has not sung in a CD but has been generous in including my songs (especially the unrecorded ones) was Jayalakshmi Santhanam--more than others have. Sumitra Nitin too includes my songs in a number of her concerts. She sang one even at MA once :) I am saying this because they don't easily sing an unknown composer in concerts which count...

Ravi,
You are right. AK did not tune her songs, but she knew more music than I do. Every time I happened to be around and a song came to her, I would hear her sing it softly--not read it out. If the tune smiths suggested a different rAgA, she would accept it willingly...

meerag56
Posts: 34
Joined: 10 Oct 2017, 20:25

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by meerag56 »

Can Arasi please share the lyrics of "Chinnakaiyai virithu " in abheri

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Meera,
Thanks for asking. Here goes...

Pallavi

Chinnak kaiyai virithenniDam veNNai kELAyO
kaNNanE, nIla vaNNanE (un)

Anupallavi

suruL kuzhal tavazh mugam kATTAyO?
aruL vizhiyAlennai ATkoLLAyO (chinna)

charaNam

iru karathAlennai aNaindiDa vArAyO
siRu padathAl maDi tugaithiDAyO
Udu kuzhalAl ennai vaLaithiDAyO?
Odu nin aruL mozhiyAlennai tiruthiDAyO

madhyama kalam

padamO siRu padam, adu ulagaLandiDum
un karamO, aNDam kAthiDum
kaNgaLO, karuNai pozhindiDum
yaSodai magizh gOvindA un (chinna)

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: 'ARASI'-Compositions of Smt.Rajee Krishnan

Post by arasi »

Sorry, inadvertant double entry. Well, I could at least ask this now: Meera,hello- are you from Bengaluru? In which case, the Meera I met at Gayathri Girish's concert at Seva Sadan early in the year? :)

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